Local band looks forward to release party, tour stops

Members of Drymill Road are shown. Band members include Doug Ross, front sitting, and from left, Sean Loomis, David Hurt and Robert Mabe. Guest musician Patrick McAvinue is at far right. Courtesy photo

Winchester-based bluegrass band Drymill Road will hold a release party of its latest album, “Give and Take,” on Jan. 24 at the Blue Fox in Winchester. Courtesy photo

Members of Drymill Road are shown. Band members include Doug Ross, front sitting, and from left, Sean Loomis, David Hurt and Robert Mabe. Guest musician Patrick McAvinue is at far right. Courtesy photo

A new album by Winchester bluegrass band Drymill Road has its members traveling far and wide.

Over the next year, the band will embark on tours through South Carolina, Florida and Vancouver, as well as concerts throughout Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic.

Taking its name from a thoroughfare in Leesburg, Drymill Road was formed in 2009 after guitarist Sean Loomis and bassist David Hurt met while in the music program at Shenandoah University. Soon afterward, the pair was introduced to mandolin player Doug Ross and banjo player Robert Mabe through Winchester’s music circles.

Mabe said the band will host a release party for its latest album, “Give and Take,” at 8 p.m. Jan. 24 at the Blue Fox.

The third album by the local quartet, “Give and Take” features 12 tracks of bluegrass and “newgrass” with themes familiar to many country listeners, he said.

Winchester-based bluegrass band Drymill Road will hold a release party of its latest album, "Give and Take," on Jan. 24 at the Blue Fox in Winchester. Courtesy photo

“It’s all based on love and loss and women and that kind of thing,” Mabe said. “As far as how we write, we write stuff from the heart and collaborate a lot as a band and it seems to work for us.”

The album, which was released on Dec. 13, also features guest musician Patrick McAvinue on fiddle.

The Blue Fox, a pool hall and music venue, is located at 1160 Millwood Pike in Winchester. Tickets to the show are $10.

Other upcoming performances from Drymill Road include the Bright Box Theatre on March 6 and Shenandoah Valley Westminster-Canterbury’s Bistro Concert Series in April.